Don Garber is a storyteller.

Over lunch at a Midtown Manhattan rooftop restaurant last month, as he chronicles his journey from Bayside, Queens to the NFL offices on Park Avenue to MLS commissioner, it is clear he knows it is the little details that make a story sing.

He didn’t just work at a gas station in high school, it was Barney’s Gulf, a sponsor of the Tony DePhillips Little League baseball team he played for. He didn’t just deliver newspapers, he learned how to properly fold up the Long Island Press to toss while riding his Stingray bike. He reels off the names of characters he has met along the way, like his wife Betsy’s boss at public relations firm Ruder and Finn, who told her she could find Betsy a better match “than this knucklehead”. “We’ll be married 39 years,” he notes. Or the man who ran the farmstand he worked at during summer break while a student at SUNY Oneonta.

He drops a few surprises, too. Garber’s resume may start at a vocational school near LaGuardia Airport, but his first year and a half after college was spent sleeping in a Ford van, working at bars and installing irrigation lines to pay his way across the U.S. and Mexico with some buddies.

“Old guys have great stories,” Garber says, with a smile.

Next month will mark 25 years for…

This year’s Copa América will be closely watched, but the ensuing Olympic Games in Paris will have just as much to say about the broader state of the U.S. men’s player pool. Unlike the women’s side of the Olympic tournament, the men’s competition relies on players under the age of 23, though every team is allowed to bring up to three over-age players in the 18-man squad.  

If the team that U.S. Olympic coach Marko Mitrović selects comes close to matching the program-best 4th place finish in 2000, it would be a potential indicator that the U.S. can now consistently produce top-end talent. If the U.S. is embarrassed in Group A, though, some will fear that 2026 will be the program’s high point for quite some time.

After the draw in March, Mitrović touted a “big pool of players that we are following” for potential inclusion. He stressed that he wants to bring “the best 18 players” he can, and didn’t show his hand yet about areas where he feels he can sacrifice depth given the squad limitations of an Olympic tournament.

GO DEEPER

USMNT to play France in Olympic tourney opener

With that in mind, here’s a crib sheet of Olympic-eligible players to track in the coming months. This list focuses on MLS players, and with good reason: A full half of the most recent…

Major League Soccer will kick off this season with stand-in referees when Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami hosts Real Salt Lake on Wednesday.

The MLS Players Association (MLSPA), the labor union that represents MLS players, said the lockout of the league’s match officials was a “backward step,” adding in a statement on Tuesday that “the use of replacement referees will not only negatively impact the quality and results of our matches, it may also jeopardize the health and safety of players.”

The move comes after PSRA, the union that represents professional referees across MLS, the second- and third-tier United Soccer Leagues and the National Women’s Soccer League, and PRO, the MLS-funded body that manages professional officiating in the United States and Canada, failed to reach a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in January.

The Athletic explains what’s going on…

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So, who is going to referee the opening MLS games?

On February 17, The Athletic reported PRO had commitments from 66 replacement officials. Of those, 26 can be assigned as a referee or fourth official, and 29 can be assistant referees.

Cristian Campo Hernandez will be the center referee for Inter Miami vs. Real Salt Lake. The Spaniard officiated matches in the second-division USL Championship last year…

Negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement between the Professional Referees Organization (PRO) and the Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA) have not resulted in a new deal and, barring changes over the next 10 days, a work stoppage feels “imminent,” said once source briefed on the negotiations. Another source characterizes the negotiations between the two sides as being “a very discouraging process so far.”

If it drags on, a work stoppage could leave MLS needing to find replacement officials at the start of its season and preseason. The current CBA between the PSRA and PRO, which has been in place since early 2019, expires on Jan. 15. The MLS season begins on Feb. 21 when Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami hosts Real Salt Lake.

The PSRA is the union that represents professional referees across Major League Soccer, the second and third-tier United Soccer Leagues and the National Women’s Soccer League. PRO, founded in 2012 by MLS and the U.S. Soccer Federation, oversees the professional officiating landscape in the United States, including assigning games, assessing and educating officials, and identifying new talent. An associated organization, PRO2, oversees officiating in the NWSL, USL, and MLS Next Pro. The PSRA and PRO2 ratified a CBA of their…

D.C. United has named Nashville SC assistant general manager Ally Mackay as their new GM and chief soccer officer, the club announced Monday. The Washington Post first reported United’s intention to hire Mackay. The Athletic reported on the club’s interest in Mackay in early October.

DCU was without a GM after the club parted ways with Lucy Rushton (now the GM at NWSL side Bay FC) at the end of the 2022 season. Dave Kasper, the club’s president of soccer operations and sporting director, is expected to remain with the club in a reduced capacity but Mackay will be primary decision-maker on the soccer side.

Mackay’s first task will be a big one: filling D.C. United’s managerial vacancy. The club’s former coach, Wayne Rooney, left for English Championship side Birmingham City after D.C. United was eliminated from playoff contention in October. United has not qualified for postseason play in four seasons despite having the sixth-highest payroll in Major League Soccer.

“I’m excited and proud to take on this role and have the responsibility of leading this historic franchise forward into the next chapter,” Mackay said in a statement. “There are numerous elements that drew me to the club including the city itself, the passionate support from the fanbase, and a…

D.C. United is finalizing a deal to name Nashville SC assistant GM Ally Mackay as their new general manager and chief soccer officer, sources briefed on the decision tell The Athletic. The Washington Post first reported United’s intention to hire Mackay. The Athletic reported on the club’s interest in Mackay in early October.

DCU has been without a GM since the club parted ways with Lucy Rushton (now the GM at NWSL side Bay FC) at the end of the 2022 season. Dave Kasper, the club’s president of soccer operations and sporting director, is expected to remain with the club in a reduced capacity but Mackay will be primary decision-maker on the soccer side.

Mackay’s first task will be a big one: filling D.C. United’s managerial vacancy. The club’s former head coach, Wayne Rooney, left for English Championship side Birmingham City after D.C. United was eliminated from playoff contention in October. United has not qualified for postseason play in four seasons despite having the sixth-highest payroll in Major League Soccer.

D.C. has an open designated player spot behind forward Christian Benteke and midfielder Mateusz Klich as Mackay has the chance to rebuild the squad.

Nashville hired Mackay to be part of GM Mike Jacobs’ inaugural staff as the club prepared for its 2020…